


Pretzels and Cannolis

by aspendays



Series: Dash & Lily's New Year [1]
Category: Dash & Lily (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27706427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aspendays/pseuds/aspendays
Summary: This is a continuation of Dash & Lily (the Netflix series!). Canon-compliant with some added flourish.Planning to do one-shots bouncing around between deleted scenes, post-New Years content, and more love for Boomer & Sofia and Langston & Benny because they were done a bit dirty with the lack of screen time.
Relationships: Benny/Langston, Boomer/Sofia, Dash/Lily (Dash & Lily)
Series: Dash & Lily's New Year [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026391
Comments: 4
Kudos: 60





	Pretzels and Cannolis

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is set immediately after the show finishes, where they put some more cards on the table.

Being trapped in The Strand was an unrealized dream for Dash and Lily. Unlimited stock, no holiday crowds, the best food in New York, the company of a kindred spirit… what could be better? However, it subtracted from the opportunity to get properly acquainted. They were ecstatic to be in the presence of each other, but their inner bibliophiles had gotten the better of them. Dash sat hunched over a stack of books, slowly eating a pretzel, while Lily laid propped up on her elbows, enjoying Christmas cannolis and flicking through the pages of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. For the first time in days, there was nowhere to go, nothing to write; they could enjoy the presence of one another and forget all about impressions. Although they had technically only just met, there was already a comfortable silence that neither Dash nor Lily cared to break.

The silence is only pierced by the unexpected buzz of Lily’s phone, snapping them out of their literary trances. She tears herself away from the nostalgic pages of the novel and looks at her phone screen. Dash watches in anticipation as she reads the notification, knowing that it is likely one of her less-than-pleased family members. “My grandpa said he’s talked to Mark and he’ll be back to unlock the door soon. Should be about thirty minutes.” Another bout of silence falls over the room, this one not quite as comfortable as the first. 

“What do you wanna do until then?” Dash inquires. 

“We should probably talk, right? We’ve seen enough words on pages,” Lily suggests, typing out a response for her grandfather. The lanky boy hums in agreement and runs a hand through his hair.

“Very true. How about we fill in some gaps from the notebook?” 

Lily takes a bite of cannoli. “I’ll start,” she suggests, moving to sit cross-legged next to her book and plate of snacks. “I promise I’m not jealous or anything, but I do wanna ask… what’s the deal with you and Sofia?”

Dash grimaces. “We uh, we dated for a while. But she moved and it made sense for us to break things off. She’s back for the holidays, and actually moving back here, but the relationship just didn’t… fit anymore. Not that it ever truly did, but even she admitted that I was more of a comfort person than someone she truly wanted to be with.” Lily frowns at that, making Dash shake his head. “It’s fine. I wanted to be with you when I was with her, so we’re kind of even. I only called her last week because I had to go to dinner with my dad and she’s always been good at helping me diffuse the tension with him. It was selfish of me; I didn’t really think it through. It dragged us back down an old road that neither of us belongs on. We deserve someone we’re compatible with, and I’ve found that,” he finishes, his voice cool. 

Lily can tell that he honestly holds no malice for Sofia. It’s an actual, amicable friendship, she thinks to herself. “Yeah, I get that.” He nods pensively, slowly gathering that his answer is enough to satisfy her curiosity. “I noticed at some point that I was doing things because I couldn’t be with you, but there wasn’t actually anything stopping us. It got kind of silly,” Lily laughs awkwardly. They know the feeling all too well.

“Yeah, I found that happening. I got kind of destructive toward the end of our notebook affair,” Dash remarks, smirking as Lily’s cheeks flush pink. Then, his gaze turns more serious. “It became hard to imagine myself spending the holidays with anyone else.” He lets out a bitter laugh. “I should’ve given you my email or something days ago.” He shifts on the ground, soon abandoning his assortment of books and situating himself on the window sill they were perched on earlier in the night. 

The dark-haired girl sympathizes with him. “Yeah, that probably would’ve been best. If we’d exchanged information most of this could’ve been avoided,” she admits. “But I guess that’s just how our story was meant to happen.” A smile overtakes Lily’s face, making Dash stare at her with renewed awe. He watches as her smile begins at the corners of her lips, travels up her cheeks, and illuminates her brown eyes, sometimes going as far up as her eyebrows. He sees so much love in her eyes, and he can’t help but wonder how much of it is reserved for him. Lily begins to squirm under his strong gaze. “So, um, it’s your turn to ask a question.”

“Oh, uh, right.” After a moment of thought, he wiggles his pointer finger at Lily. “What happened on the seventh night of Hanukkah?” 

“Oh,” she pauses. “It just stirred up some old memories for me, is all. I couldn’t get over it, so I went home. My grandpa had just gotten back, though, so I got grounded for staying out all night.”

“But Dov and Yohnny said you were the queen, what could have ruined things?” 

Lily thinks long and hard about her response, knowing that things will unravel completely once she elaborates. “I ran into E, that guy from middle school that I told you about. He called me weird for bringing a notebook to a club, and I don’t know I just— it ruined my good mood. I left in a rush.” Dash clenches his fists as he thinks about that young punk ruining Lily’s night. “It turns out, it wasn’t anything big. I ran into Edgar a few days later and he called me weird again, and I finally learned that he was meaning it as a compliment.”

Dash nods in understanding, the gravity of her words only setting in after several moments. “Wait, Edgar is E?” Dash looks at Lily, totally dumbfounded. Part of him is surprised. The other part knows that it’s essentially in character and would like nothing more than to deck Edgar with a chair.

“Yeah,” Lily looks down and redirects her attention toward fiddling with a handmade bracelet. Sensing her hesitance, Dash carefully asks her another question.

“Why would you go out with him after all that he did to you?”

“I’d liked to think that he had changed. And in some ways he had. But him not caring about my feelings hurt just as much as him being mean to me.”

Dash’s face is painted with guilt, and his mind is momentarily red with anger. How could she give her heart so freely to a person so selfish? He knows why: it’s Lily. But that doesn’t make his heart hurt for her any less. “Lil, I’m sorry.” It’s all he can think to say, and all-encompassing. Sorry for sending you to the club, sorry for exposing you to Edgar, sorry for not learning your name at Priya’s party and putting an end to the game sooner. Sorry for making us miss out on five days of Dash and Lily moments.

Lily rises casually and joins him on the window sill. “No, I’m fine now. I’ve got closure. I needed to realize that there was never anything wrong with me and that he has his own issues. I was just caught in the crossfire.” Her expression turns serious for a moment before bouncing back and giving him a shy smile. “Hey, maybe we can go back to that club together and be real weirdos sometime soon.”

“It’s a date.” Neither of them completely comprehend being in the presence of one another. There’s only one shot, and there’s very little time to think of a reaction. It leads to them sitting there, gazing longingly into each other's eyes without the slightest clue how to move forward. Lily’s eyes soon turn away from Dash to admire the city lights. They fill with more life and joy than he thought eyes could possess, and he’s a goner. Dash takes her hands lightly and leans in to press his lips to hers. She eagerly accepts, letting out a happy sigh. His hands travel to sit on her waist as the kiss deepens, the breath being sucked out of both of them. Lily lets her hands run wild through his wavy hair, enjoying the feeling of it between her fingers. After a few beats, Dash pulls away, surprising Lily and causing her to let out a small and somewhat involuntary whine. “ I suppose I should thank Edgar for one thing.”

Lily’s nose quirks in confusion. “Really, bringing up Edgar now? What did he do?”

“Letting me see you in that adorable Christmas sweater.” She grins brightly and wraps her arms around Dash’s neck, trapping him against her lips. He gets caught up in the taste of her lips; the sweet cannolis that she fawns over. The sugar mixes nicely with the residual salt on his lips from the pretzel he ate earlier, creating a holiday treat that neither of them has tasted before. 

Notebook questions be damned; the new year holds plenty of opportunities for those.


End file.
